T.G.I.F.: I pledge to speak truth to power--Will Philips

On Monday October 5, 2009 10-year old Will Phillips, a resident of Washington County, Arkansas and a student in the West Fork School district remained seated during the daily pledge of allegiance to the U.S. flag as a protest as a queer ally because he recognizes that the LGBTQ community is not treated as equal to those who are straight--that basic rights, like the right to marry--is denied to them, and as Will said in an interview with The Arkansas Times:

“I really don't feel that there's currently liberty and justice for all.”

For more on this story, see this CNN piece below:



And here's The Daily Show's reporting of Will Phillips, and Jon Stewart's enlisting of pro-wrestler Mick Foley as muscle to protect any would-be hasslers of young Phillips:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Gaywatch - Peter Vadala & William Phillips
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

It's not often that we take a stand, speak truth to justice, especially a stand that is not popular with the majority of our peers and with the authority figures in our lives. The fact that Will Phillips is doing this at the young age of 10, and that he seems to be such a focused, principled, and articulate young man is definitely deserving of The Great Impossible Feat Award. I hope he inspires others to also think carefully about what they believe in and to work for social justice and equal rights for all. Will Phillips says that he wants to make a difference and that being 10 shouldn't stop him from taking stands. Wise words for us all to live by.

T.G.I.F.: Allies

The past few weeks have been pretty disheartening from the point-of-view of being an educator and activist who believes in anti-racism and who also works on educating herself about other forms of oppression (classism, sexism, homophobia, etc...). Especially reading the comment threads on a lot of mainstream blogs and/or on-line newspapers can be downright depressing--because people are constantly challenging what counts as racism--even in the face of things that seem to be so obviously and blatantly racist.

But then I am reminded about allies. And I feel a warm fuzzy coming over me. Because allies are what we need to fight various forms of oppression, as well as to recognize the ways that oppressions are linked together--homophobia and sexism fit hand and glove, and racism and classism are so intertwined that people just take their interrelated nature for granted.

I have had several important allies in my life--both personal and professional. People who have fought with me and for me--mentors of all genders, sexualities, and ethnicities who have nurtured me and helped me to grow into an aspiring ally myself.

So in honor of the allies out there in the world, let me say THANK YOU and to highlight some blogging allies who I believe are instrumental in speaking truth to power in numerous ways:

*What Tami Said on gay Bishop Rev. Eugene Robinson

*Poplicks on an offensive ad for Israeli cell phones

*Tenured Radical on the need for access for all

And finally, these two clips by white allies on addressing issues of racism"

[From Angry Asian Man, Terry Keleher breaks down "Reverse Racism"]




[From Stuff White People Do, Lincoln Trudeau on the phrase "I'm not racist but..."]


For all these allies and many more, the T.G.I.F. award honors their contributions in working across lines--because at the end of the day, we should all be working together to try to make the world a better and fairer place for everyone.

T.G.I.F.: Free college, Berea college

A few days ago The New York Times did a story on Berea College in Kentucky, a college founded in 1855 that does not charge tuition. That's right--if you get accepted into Berea and matriculate, you don't pay a dime in tuition (and they are ranked #75 among small liberal arts colleges according to U.S. News and World Report--which we should all take with a grain of salt, these rankings, but figured I'd include them for what they are worth).

This is a description of Berea from their college website:

Berea College is distinctive among institutions of higher learning. Founded in 1855 as the first interracial and coeducational college in the South, Berea charges no tuition and admits only academically promising students, primarily from Appalachia, who have limited economic resources. Berea’s cost of educating a student exceeds $23,000 per year.

[View of sunset from Berea college athletic fields]

According to their "About the College" site, 1 in 3 students at Berea are also members of an ethnic minority. So here we have a college that is free, that was the first interracial and coeducational college to open its doors in the South (and this during a time well before the likes of Brown vs. Board of Education and well before places in the South like Vanderbilt and Sewanee were opening its doors to African Americans and women), and whose mission is to educate promising students who wouldn't normally be able to afford the exorbitant tuition and cost of living at places like Harvard, Swarthmore, and Stanford.

That, is truly a Great Impossible Feat.

T.G.I.F.: Happy Birthday Nelson Mandela!

It's Friday, July 18, 2008, and 90 years ago Nelson Mandela was born in Transkei, South Africa. And there are so many things that are T.G.I.F. (The Great Impossible Feat) about the fact that Mandela is celebrating his 90th birthday today.


[I love this photo of Mandela--don't you wish you were able to laugh like that WITH him--that would be incredible!]

Nelson Mandela devoted his life to issues of social justice and civil rights for people in South Africa and people around the world. He was imprisoned in Robben's Island for 18 years (he was sent there in 1964) and after 1982 he was transferred to a Pollsmoor prison until 1990. So he was incarcerated for over 26 years--all for wanting something so basic: the equal and fair treatment of black South Africans--the end of Apartheid, a system of oppression, racism, and violence. And this was not 26 years of easy living--he experienced torturous circumstances--physical as well as mental and emotional. And he refused to compromise his political convictions to secure an early release. He lived by his principles.


[This was Mandela's cell at Robben's Island]

Nelson Mandela's life and work became known to the world during his imprisonment, largely through his wife Winnie Mandela, as well as the scores of freedom fighters in South Africa and around the world working to end apartheid. When he was released he became president of the ANC, but more importantly, he worked to heal the wounds that apartheid had left--he became a symbol to his people and to the world of courage, of fortitude, and of forgiveness.

To learn more about Mandela, you can read his profile on the Nobel Prize website (he won the Peace Prize in 1993), listen to this piece on NPR, read about the significance of his life and work in this Root article, and watch a BBC slideshow about his life, while listening to an interview with him.


For any one of us to turn 90 would be an incredible feat. For a man whose life has been so great--a man who has worked so long and so hard for the cause of equality and peace, to turn 90 is truly a Great Incredible Feat.

Happy Birthday Madiba (what he is affectionately called by those in South Africa)--may you celebrate this day with those you love--there are many around the world who wish you all the best and all the blessings that you richly deserve.